Don't repeat the mistake

Politicians'calls for NRCs in their states are irresponsible

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has reportedly said that his state will implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the controversial exercise that attempts to enumerate and record all Indian citizens in a state by asking them to submit paperwork demonstrating their, or their forebears’, presence within Indian territory prior to a particular cut-off date. Mr Khattar’s statement appears to have bipartisan support in Haryana; his predecessor, Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress, also said it was the responsibility of the government to identify non-citizens. Haryana, which includes the prosperous Delhi suburb of Gurugram, has been riven for years